James T. Walsh (R-N.Y.) and Richard H. Stallings (D-Idaho), former members of the U.S. House of Representatives, will visit St. Bonaventure University March 6-8 as part of the Congress to Campus program.

The #CongresstoCampus duo will visit classes, be available for media interviews, and present a public forum on the 2016 presidential campaign, with a focus on global issues such as immigration, terrorism and trade.

The public forum will take place from 4-5:30 p.m. Monday, March 7, in the Rigas Family Theater of the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.

The event is free and open to the public, but tickets should be reserved by calling the Quick Center Box Office at 716-375-2494.

Walsh will also lead a lunchtime forum for university students, faculty, and staff on the Northern Ireland Accords as a model for negotiating peace in the Middle East on Tuesday, March 8. The talk is slated for 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the University Club. Lunch is $3 for those without an SBU meal plan.

A 1970 graduate of St. Bonaventure, Walsh is a government affairs counselor in K&L Gates' Washington, D.C. office. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1989, where he served until 2009.

During his tenure in Congress, Walsh served as deputy Republican whip from 1994-2006. He was appointed as a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, where he served from 1993-2009.

During that time he became chairman of four House Appropriations Subcommittees: District of Columbia; Legislative Branch; VA, HUD and Independent Agencies (NASA, EPA, FEMA, NSF, Selective Service); and Military Quality of Life (included jurisdiction for Military Base Construction, the Defense Health Program, and Housing Accounts) and Veterans Affairs.

Walsh also served as ranking Republican member of the Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee on Appropriations. Earlier in his career in Congress, Walsh served on the House Agriculture Committee, the Select Committee on Children, Youth and Families and on the House Administration Committee.

Stallings served Idaho in the House of Representatives from 1985 to 1993.

His congressional tenure included service on the House Agriculture Committee; the Science, Space, and Technology Committee; and the Select Committee on Aging. He was a member of the Congressional Rural Caucus, Conservative Democratic Forum, Rural Health Coalition, Environmental and Energy Study Conference, Nuclear Weapons Facility Study Group, Alcohol Fuels Caucus, Travel and Tourism Caucus, and the Democratic Leadership Council.

Stallings was nominated by President Bill Clinton as the United States Nuclear Waste Negotiator. He served in this position from 1993 until 1995 when the independent federal agency responsible for the placement and long-term storage of nuclear waste was closed.

In 1995, he was selected to be the executive director of Pocatello Neighborhood Housing Services, a position he held until 2003. He also served as president of National Neighborhood Housing Network (NNHN), a trade association of NeighborWorks executive directors that have worked to increase Neighborhood Reinvestment (NR) funding.

When NNHN was organized in 1996, NR was provided by Congress with less than $40 million in funding. In 2006, President Bush requested $121 million for NeighborWorks America.

Congress to Campus brings together former members of Congress and today's youth to increase civic literacy and participation.

The aim of the Congress to Campus program is to enhance students understanding of civic responsibility and public service though the personal experiences of the former members with the hopes that students will be inspired to engage in the democratic process.